A study performed by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in 1997 concluded that traffic flow at the intersection met the criteria for installation of a traffic signal. This came not as happy news to residents of the area, who did not wish to see the rural character of their neighborhood disrupted. Since that study, the strategy for the intersection has been to realign Route 116 in a way that would address existing problems and calm traffic.

Two Landowners. Much of the land around Atkins Corner is owned by Hampshire College. It includes land under visual easement to the Yiddish Book Center and surrounding the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The parcel studied for village development in Atkins Corner is one owned by Hampshire College, lying between the Atkins Farm Market and Applewood.

Hampshire College’s main campus lies to the north and northeast of the corner. The college is the most-recently incorporated of the three institutions of higher learning in Amherst, having admitted its first students in 1970. The concept of the college was